My game plan was to err on the side of caution for the first 10 miles and keep a pace that wouldn't leave me dead fot the final 3 miles. I ran a steady 7:10-7:15 pace. Felt extremely good and was anxious to push more, but I didn't want to flame out early. I had two gel packs with water 10 mins before the race, and had one more with water at mile 7. Energy, legs and cardio were never in question. At mile 9 I picked the pace up closer to 7:00, and after mile 10 I put a strong kick on, doing one mile at a 6:50 pace. I beat last year's time by 6 minutes, and I beat last year's AG winning time by 2 1/2 minutes, so I was shocked, honestly, to see my 5th place AG finish. I thought I had 2nd, maybe a 3rd, but a couple of new faces showed up from out of town and the competition was strong. Oh well, you never know who's out there.

In hindsight I might have pushed a harder pace for the race; maybe closer to a steady 6:50-7:00 or so. I finished feeling pretty good, and I'm not sure I should feel so good at the end of a legitimate long, hard effort. This being my second 1/2 marathon, other than as part of a 1/2 IM, I still lack the experience to know just how fast the pace can be before lactic acid issues begin to surface. I also think my HR percentages might be a bit low, so I am going to increase them by 5% across the board.

Recoverite, 2 honey and peanut butter sandwiches, banana, orange, water.


A cautious approach.


I have to say I had higher hopes, but I'm not dissatisfied. I thought I would have had a shot to finish in under 90 minutes, but as I've pointed out, my HR ranges might be too low and I was purposely cautious. Most important, I learned a lot about my 1/2 marathon pace, which I hope to use to my advantage at the 1/2 IM in July.